Have a 2001 F4i that i just got and was told it needs a starter and a battery. I pulled the starter and it tested fine. Reinstalled into engine and without a battery hooked up my charger to system and crossed solenoid to see if it would turn engine over. No dice. Removed stator cover and stator and tried to turn engine over by hand with plugs removed. Seemed like a bit of oil did come out but even with plugs out starter still wont move. Turns over by hand with 3/8" drive 10" wrench with plugs out somewhat easily. My 18v impact will not turn it over at all.

Guy I got it from said it was layed over but ran after that for a while and stopped starting a few months ago. When I turn the engine over in gear the bike moves forward as well.

My questions are:

1. How hard should this engine be to turn over by hand with all plugs removed?
2. Do I need to 12 o'clock the bike and turn it over to drain all oil or evacuate the cylinders?
3. Is it possible 10 amps isn't enough current to turn the engine over (since I'm using just a charger, no battery)?
4. If the motor has too much resistance (aka cylinder or bottom end problems) would this happen?

Needing some direction to go from here. Have experience in some engine work but this is my first CBR.

 

well, as long as the bike wasnt given to you on its side you would think the oil drained from the cylinders a while ago.
if you need a battery for the bike, your best bet is to buy a battery.
while charging systems are great for a boost for a not so strong battery i dont think it will fully provide the cranking amps you need.
i would consider the maintenance of this bike, plugs, valves and most definite oil level. not sure if tight valves can increase compression but it sounds logical to me.
you are saying you hooked the starter up to the battery charger off of the bike and it turned over? if you applied any resistance though would it die?
first step i say buy a battery. you could try a car battery but im not sure if the starter only takes the amps it needs or if it will take all 600 haha

 

Okay well I'm going to take it back out in the shop today and get it in the air and get a battery in it and go from there. Will take videos.

 

Well lesson learned: never trust the diagnosis of a previous owner! My guess is the battery crapped out and wouldn't turn the engine but had enough to trigger the solenoid and try to turn the starter motor. Got the stator cover back on and oil in the bike and motor turns under starters power with a battery with plugs out. About to go hook up the fuel and intake system and ignition and see what happens! Videos soon!

 

UPDATE: Got everything back together and it fired right up! 20,485 on the clock (previous owner wasn't too clear on mileage). I took a short walk around video to show the current state of the bike. I forget to mention I plan on putting a Two Brothers exhaust and a double bubble wind screen.

Questions:
1. Looks like the fuel pump leak is a common issue. What is the best way to solve it (PERMANENTLY)?
2. Replace or fix the plastics? I have no bodywork background.
3. Is it worth it to have the dealer do the valve adjustment? I've done OHV Briggs & Stratton engines but nothing like this.

Link to video:

 

The 2Bros is a hot topic but I'll just warn you about the double bubble screen. If you park the bike facing north on a sunny day the sunlight can reflect back onto the bike and leave a burn mark on the cluster.

It has happened to several members on another forum and an email I received from Zero Gravity tech support said that it is possible.

 

well, while you have the tank off.. check the valves, you dont have to pull the throttle bodies, but you have to remove a few things like the air box, and pair valve, i think thats about it.
i dunno about 2 bros but i got my rs3 yoshi cheap, it was on sale though. came with a screw on silencer, probably needs it tbh.
first i hear of a fuel leak being common, maybe have someone weld a bolt back on? that gasket looks really thin and melted, is that because of the light?
it almost looks like you can get that bolt out and tap some threads or weld a new bolt on easy enough. maybe send the tank off to do that and make sure your valves are within spec.
seen a thread recently where someone had a good portion of his stator area on the block re-welded, after seeing that, the sky is the limit on repairs.

 

Thanks for the input guys, I will definitely think twice on the double bubble. Anyone running T6 Rotella full synthetic in these machines? Cheapest, best quality, easiest to find synthetic safe for wet clutches that I've found.

 

I've been running T6 for the last 20k miles since I've owned my F4i (has 63k on the clock now, not sure what was used before but was told synthetic) with no problems.

 

Update on the bike. I've never done shim under bucket valve adjustments but I'm thinking it needs one. Loud tick from left side of top end. Ran it last night and it would rev and go through all gears but stopped because of fuel leak. See video and if you have a solution I'm all ears!